Just a few miles north of the East Texas town of Henderson, down a narrow country road, past a busy industrial timber mill, squats the cinder block lock-up known as the East Texas Treatment Facility.

View full sizeDonadl Gilliland, The Patriot-NewsLinda Lunsford leads a DWI class on the warning signs of relapse at the East Texas Treatment Facility in Henderson, TX.

Surrounded by razor wire and 42 acres of scrubland, the facility has grown since the state’s 2007 prison reform. Henderson is now the largest licensed treatment facility in Texas.

It can house more than 2,000 nonviolent drug and alcohol offenders, including those on probation or parole who have technically violated the terms of their supervision. Instead of going back into a state prison, they’re sent to Henderson for a few months.

The reality of Henderson sharply contradicts the “soft on crime” charge that treatment is a warm and cuddly liberal replacement for hard time.

Security is tight. The atmosphere is dour and regimented. Jumpsuited prisoners are monitored at all times.

It’s true they spend most of each day in various forms of treatment, but Assistant Warden Jennifer Love says there’s nothing easy about it. In fact, some inmates have tried to opt out of Henderson and into a longer sentence in a regular prison because the regimen is so onerous.

As Pam Kelley, the senior DWI instructor at Henderson explains, “DWI offenders have tremendous difficulty because alcohol is legal. Even though they’re in prison, they don’t look at themselves as criminals.”

“Throw the book at ‘em” might sound good, says Kelley, but will it make them stay clean and sober? “I say no. You need this type of treatment — otherwise you have a revolving door.”